By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
MOUNT VERNON — El Dorado Springs volleyball coach Ashley Rogers knew her Class of 2022 was going to be special four years ago, when this season’s trio of seniors was in eighth grade.
From that moment forward, Rogers said, the Bulldogs were preparing for the day that Reese Schaaf, Tevi Gurley and Dani Ogle would break through and lead them on a playoff run.
El Dorado Springs got a glimpse of the future three years ago, when they were freshmen on a 28-win team that reached the state quarterfinals. The Bulldogs matched that win total in their sophomore and junior seasons, but district realignments and reclassifications led to heartbreaking playoff losses that prevented the team from returning to the state playoffs.
Until Monday night.
Led by Schaaf, Gurley and a strong showing from their underclassmen, the top-seeded Bulldogs clinched the Class 3 District 12 championship with a 3-0 victory over Lamar at Mount Vernon High School. It is the first district title since 2018 for the Bulldogs, who will visit District 11 champion Springfield Catholic at 6:30 p.m. Thursday for their sectional match.
“It means so much to them,” Rogers said, referencing her senior class. “We capitalized when Reese, Tevi and Dani were freshmen and made it all the way to quarterfinals. And then their sophomore and junior years, we just weren’t able to push through the districts.”
With the 25-23, 25-17, 25-20 victory, the Bulldogs improved to 34-2-2 this season — their first 30-win campaign since 2012 — and 118-17-10 over the past four years as Schaaf, Gurley and Ogle elevated the Bulldogs from a 12-win team in 2017 to a perennial district title contender.
But their past two seasons ended prematurely, as Stockton upset them in the semifinals of the 2019 Class 2 District 12 tournament. Then El Dorado Springs moved up to Class 3 and was placed in a district with schools further north, and fell to Pleasant Hill in the District 13 title game.
This marked their third different district in the past three years, with the Bulldogs moving back south and sweeping first-round opponent East Newton and Lamar to finally reclaim a title.
“We’ve prepared and prepared and prepared for this,” Rogers said. “Back when they were in eighth grade, we were preparing for them to make a run. I’m just so proud of them for pulling through — and my underclassmen as well. I mean, they played phenomenal tonight.”
With Ogle unable to play this season after she tore her anterior cruciate ligament at the end of the summer, Drury commits Schaaf and Gurley have done the bulk of the work on offense.
Gurley, who will continue her volleyball career at the school, and Schaaf, who’ll play basketball there, had accounted for just over half of El Dorado Springs’ kills and 88 percent of its assists.
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But Ogle’s absence has created some opportunities for freshmen Alexis Collins and Neely Schaaf, sophomore Gracie Mead and junior Macie Mays, who all made key offensive and defensive contributions to ensure the victory and give the seniors one more thing to celebrate.
There’s also an obvious parallel between the 2021 and 2018 championship teams, in that underclassmen — and, specifically, freshmen — played a starring role in the path to the title.
“We won districts our freshman year and it’s been really hard the last two years losing,” Gurley said. “To win this district this year in my senior year has been amazing and it means so much to me — especially with these freshmen stepping up. It was really meaningful.”
Collins entered the game with the team lead in serving points and aces and was third on the Bulldogs in digs behind the Schaafs. Neely Schaaf was second in digs and serve receptions.
“They’ve worked their butts off this season,” Gurley said. “They knew they had a big role tonight and they did an awesome job doing it. I’m super proud of them all.”
Mays and Mead, the team’s top two blockers, helped limit 2020 Big 8 West Player of the Year Kyleigh Talbott to 24 kills — a number that would have been much higher, if not for their play at the net.
“Our blockers did really well tonight,” Reese Schaaf said. “So that was great. That was our main key right there — get her shut down.”
The Schaafs, Collins and Mays all have more than 200 digs apiece this season and improved those totals as the defensive-minded Bulldogs never trailed a set by more than five points.
“That’s what makes it work,” Rogers said. “I told them from the beginning this season we’re going to focus on defense. We’re quick on our feet. I’m just proud of them for working as hard as they did. They pick up balls that sometimes seem impossible and they still get it done.”
When they briefly fell behind 10-5 in the third, Rogers called a timeout and told the team to relax. The Bulldogs came back out and scored seven of the next eight points to take the lead.
“Sometimes that happens when you get up two games,” Rogers said. “Once I called that timeout, they pulled back through and decided to play hard. It was great they finished in three.”
Earlier, Mays served during a 10-0 run that helped put the second set out of reach. The Tigers (25-6) rallied later in the set, but ultimately couldn’t overcome the 15-5 deficit Mays created.
“Every once in a while we’ll get in a position like that when I have a server that just goes on a roll,” Rogers said. “Macie’s got a really good jump float serve and she does a really good job of putting it in a certain place. It’s really hard to pass, especially if it’s coming at you because it moves a lot before it gets to you. It’s definitely a hard ball to receive.”
The Bulldogs will face a lot of hard-hit balls in their match against Springfield Catholic, who beat Clever on Monday to improve to 31-3-1. Led by all-state hitters Grace O’Reilly, Hallie Cook and Cherie Sabini, the Fightin Irish’ have lost just nine sets a year after advancing to the Final Four.
The Fightin’ Irish have won five in a row since an October 12 loss to Logan-Rogersville, which ultimately cost them a chance at a conference championship. While Bulldogs proved they can beat a team with one elite hitter — Talbott — three such players will present a different challenge.
“We’ll work on our block a little bit,” Rogers said. “And our defense — and rotate around them as best as we can to make sure that we’re doing our best to defend what they’re bringing to the table.”
